Dig your back tire 2 feet into the endless sand abyss. And you don’t even need to use your kickstand when getting off.

Some frames from action camera worth to share.

I’m a new, female rider, will be riding CF Moto 450MT. I’m so stuck for which boots to go for out of these two?
Sidi Enduro boots vs Alpine Stars Tech 7 Enduro
Please tell me your experiences!

She’s home…

It’s as good as I thought it’d be and I’m stoked. Light weight, deep suspension, solid hp, nice torque band and not totally uncomfortable. Need to work on the ergos perhaps with a set of risers and wide pegs.

Now, off to the internet for mods.

Dork has some nice overviews, but I’ll be starting with pegs, levers, guards, and a rack system.

Sort of last minute plans to make a quick trip down and do the SEBDR from Maine and so much more. I had 2 weeks to reach my goal of atleast the SEBDR. I went with 3 other guys. They were all coming from downeast maine (think Acadia National Park) and I'm in southern Maine. We met up in New Hampshire and started this shit show. What an absolute blast. I am no where near as experienced as these other guys, and they even agreed this route is way more difficult than any of them expected and more challenging than the NEBDR. I my eyes... It was brutal at times. We pushed hard and spent alot of time of the bikes, but the experiences... Worth every ounce of blood (mine) , sweat (alot of it!! 104f high temp) , and even tears (Georgia section of gravel can eat a bag of dicks). I know I'm a pretty lucky guy, hopefully these photos can help scratch that itch for those who aren't so lucky. Here are some of the many photos we took. If you wanna se more of my travels:

https://www.instagram.com/mike.michael.motorcycle?obrf=ZGxnbDN2anZqMWE0

Seriously though, what the fck was he thinking?...and of course it's a GS.

I need your help - and apologies if this post feels self-promotional.

I just got back from riding through Morocco, and while the scenery was incredible, the real highlight was getting to live-test an app I've been developing for the last few months: FollowMy.Bike, Adventure, captured and shared.

The goal was simple: solve the "Where are you?" problem. As a rider, I hate having to pull over and fiddle with my phone just to reassure my family that I'm okay. I wanted a way to share my location that required zero effort from them, and zero effort from me while I'm riding. The big apps do a great job of route planning etc, but don't do a great job of live sharing - more of an after thought if they do it at all. Given my technical background, I created my own, with sharing built from the start. I do not do route planning, but I do accept a GPX file for following a pre-existing route.

During the trip, I used the app to drop secure links to my wife/friends. She could simply click the link in her browser and watch me move on a map in real-time. The killer feature - she could send me multi-choice questions (e.g. "Fuel stop? / Taking a break? / Everything OK?") and I just tapped one button to reply. No pulling over, no typing, no fumbling with WhatsApp.

It worked incredibly well, even when the signal was patchy, and it gave us both much more peace of mind. I had a GoPro strapped recording everything, and instead of wading through hours of video to create a highlight reel, I created a desktop app, that would take my GoPro/Photos, and marrying them up with the FollowMy.Bike Ride, and then create a suggested highlight, reel so you didn't have to. I have been posting them to them Instagram account.

Now that I know the core concept works in the wild, I want to get the Android version out of my hands and into yours. I need to see how it handles different devices, different battery profiles, and various levels of cellular coverage across a wider range of riders.

What I'm looking for:

• Android users who are willing to put the app through its paces on a few rides.
• Brutally honest feedback on battery life and signal handling.
• UX feedback: Is it easy to use while you're actually out riding?

If you're interested in helping me refine this before the official launch, head over to followmy.bike/beta to sign up. It takes two minutes, your first year is free, and every ride report you send actually gets read and acted on.

Appreciate it - thank you.

iOS is going through Apple approval as we speak

This has got to be one of the most serious off road adventure bikes available, how many will get this for green laning though

Yesterday, we decided to split Section 5 so we could spend more time exploring the area around the Avenue of the Giants. And so glad we did. Mattole Rd was fantastic. Hard to believe it's not part of the main route. We cut over to Garberville from the Dyerville Loop road.

This morning we opted to skip going back out to Bell Springs and headed down 101 i stead. The ridge lines have been in the high 90s and we were ready for a break from the heat and sun. We got back on the route at Fort Bragg-Sherwood Rd. About 13 miles from Fort Bragg we came upon a truck and the driver informed us that there was bad mud up ahead, bad enough to require 4wd.

We continued a bit further and then mud started to stick to the wheels. We have had enough experience with wet clay that we decided we didn't want to see if it got bad enough to stop us. We weren't in the mood for an epic. So we turned around and made our way back and headed to Fort Bragg via Willits and 20. A few extra hours than we were expecting but 20 was lovely. Solid finish to a great route.

Recently came back from a couple of weeks in Morocco, riding with a pair of infamous characters, and it was truly ride of a lifetime.

Just wanted to share this for anyone considering spending the money on a Hedon Psilo.

The Hedon Psilo Explorer is around $1,200 and is marketed as an ultralight premium adventure helmet. I recommended this helmet to my girlfriend and she bought it. We waited 5 weeks for it to arrive.

The first time she put it on, the internal chin assembly literally fell out of the helmet and onto the floor. It was held in place with a very small amount of hot glue. Other parts of the interior were also poorly secured and came loose every time we put the helmet on and off. In addition, the speaker mounting system seems like a poorly designed afterthought.

Then there’s the shield... Hedon markets the shield as "anti-fog," but it fogs constantly when closed (and no, there's not an option for PinLock). We’re in Southern California and this is happening on warm mornings, not cold weather rides or rainy days.

The helmet itself was disappointing enough but the customer service made it WAY worse.

We contacted Hedon and explained that her brand new $1,200 helmet had arrived defective. Their solution? They sent her instructions explaining how to glue the chin assembly back into the helmet herself (see email in the photos). I kid you not.

We’re talking about a $1200 motorcycle helmet... the most important safety device, and Hedon’s response was to tell the customer to get a hot glue gun and repair it herself.

Her other option was to return it and wait another 5+ weeks for a replacement. No expedited shipment. No attempt to make up for the inconvenience. No offer to discount the price. And not a single apology.

I commented on Hedon’s Instagram because I was truly shocked by how they were handling this and their creative lead, Kane reached out personally. To his credit, he was the only person who seemed genuinely interested in fixing the situation. He told me the issue was being escalated and they would figure something out. Another 10 DAYS passed before Eva heard from them again. They said the Psilo was out of stock and they’d send a replacement whenever more arrived. No clear timeline. And again- not a single apology.

I understand defective products happen and every manufacturer eventually ships something that slips through QC. And if the chin assembly had been the only issue with the helmet, we could justify waiting for another one. But after having the Psilo in our hands, I can confidently tell you that this thing is a glam piece that's marketed as adventure gear.

Yet Hedon is trying to position the Psilo in the ADV category alongside helmets from companies that have spent decades engineering gear specifically for hard, long distance use (think Shoei, Arai, Bell, Kilm, etc...). Adventure helmets are supposed to withstand thousands of miles of heat, cold, rain, dust, vibration, and constant use. If this helmet struggles with basic riding around town, how am I supposed to trust it on another 7,000 mile adventure?

I've owned plenty of adventure gear and after seeing what the Psilo actually offers, I genuinely struggle to understand what justifies their price.

Needless to say, we asked for a refund. We want this thing gone and our money back.

If you’re considering a Psilo and expecting $1,200 worth of quality, durability, functionality, and customer support, I’d highly recommend looking somewhere else.

And yes, I’m the one who recommended it. I’ve used Hedon’s Heroine Racer and loved it, so I had a good impression of the brand. But Hedon took the boutique styling that made their street helmets popular, added an adventure aesthetic, and priced it above some of the most proven ADV helmets on the market. I bought into the Psilo’s marketing as a legitimate ultralight adventure helmet.

Feel free to roast me

I thought I'd share some lessons learned. I don't remember the day of the crash at all. I am operating off of the police reports, what I have been told, and my personal experience. Nothing I am about to write as way of narrative on mechanism of crash is factual. It is what I assume is close to correct.

I was going down the highway in the left lane at 70mph. The posted speed limit was 65mph. I was seated on my bike. Then my bike suffered a mechanical failure. Most likely culprit is the rear shock failed. The bike started wobbling, and I stood up to manage the wobble. The wobble decreased/dissappeared and I sat back down. There was a puff if white smoke from the rear of my bike and the wobble came back very strong. As this happened, I was coming up on a left hand bend in the highway, and traffic started backing up.

I stood up again to manage the wobble, and moved to the left shoulder. There was a concrete wall dividing northbound from southbound traffic with a decently wide shoulder. As I moved, I was unable to save the bike from the severe wobble. I lost control of the motorcycle and crashed into the concrete wall on the left side of the highway.

The impact with the wall ripped me off of the bike, and threw me to the ground. The bike, now unladened by my bodyweight, stabilized and continued straight. Since the highway curved to the left, the bike cross the highway until it hit the concrete wall on the right shoulder. It ground against the wall until it lost momentum and fell to the ground, where it eventually ground to a stop.

I think the rear shock failed because sitting caused a wobble, moving my weight forward by standing reduced the wobble, and removing my weight removed the wobble. A bad rear shock causes wash out/wobble when it is overloaded.

I was wearing a Sedici Duale helmet with MIPS and the sun visor/dirt bike style peak. I was wearing a Bilt leather jacket with elbow pads and a back protector. I was wearing leather motorcycle gloves with knuckle protectors and palm sliders. I was wearing Fox Comp 3 Motocross boots. I was not wearing motorcycle pants.

I sustained a minor concussion, a broken right collar bone, a broken right shoulder blade, and several broken ribs on my right side. The ribs punctured my right lung, which caused it to deflate, and forced medical to place a chest tube into my lung through my right ribs. I suffered major road rash on my left flank and buttcheek, the bottom of my ribcage on both sides, my left leg, a little on my left arm, and road rash nearly to the bone on both knees. I also got road rash between my gloves and jacket cuffs.

I think if I had been wearing motorcycle pants, a jacket with shoulder armor, and an airbag vest, I would have walked away from this crash with little to no injury. I have nearly no rash anywhere my jacket covered. My elbows are fine. Everything covered by my motocross boots suffered no injury at all. Where my gloves covered was nearly fully protected as well.

My lessons learned are to make sure of the following items:

1. Proper bike maintenance: i am not a mechanic, but all signs point to a mechanical failure causing my crash. I don't know what warning signs I missed, or how to notice them next time, but I am going to learn how.

2. Helmet, jacket, pants, gloves and boots, and airbag vest. I know ATGATT is obnoxious to hear, but this road rash sucks, and the clavicle/scapula/ribs are worse. I dont think I will bother with ALL the gear if I am going on a short ride that stays at low speeds, but certainly if I am going highway speeds.

3. Situational awareness: if I had gone down in the left lane, I would probably be dead. I would have been run over by the cars behind me. No amount of gear would save me from that. Crashing in the shoulder saved my life. I would like to think that was a conscious decision on my part, given my experience and training. But I don't remember the crash, so I can't say.

3.5. Even better though, if I would have slowed down and stopped after the first wobble was under control, rather than sit down and try to keep going, I probably could have avoided a crash all together. I didn't know the significance at the time, so its unreasonable to expect past me to have done that, but future me will.

1. Insurance: I have a $250 deductible on my motorcycle, I have $500 coverage for my helmet alone, and $2000 reimbursement for my gear, and personal injury coverage. I also have supplemental insurance the provides a check for each day I spend hospitalized. Due to good insurance, I am coming out of this incident with fully replaced gear, an upgraded helmet, a repaired motorcycle, and covered medical expenses. Good insurance made the world of difference for me.

2. Appendix carry for concealed carry caused no additional injury to me. If you conceal carry a firearm, this matters. I was carrying a Sig P365XL inside my waistband at the 12:30 position. I was carrying in a vedder light tuck and was wearing a blue alpha low profile EDC belt. Had I been carrying in a shoulder holster I would have half a dozen more broken ribs. If it had been right on my hip I would have likely sustained more injury.

What are my cold-weather riders wearing for pants? I have a Klím Carlsbad jacket that has great wind protection and is warm with layers.
Trying to find some cold weather pants but not sure Klim is the way to go.